Near failure: Austin places seventh on new drunkest cities in America list

Just in time for New Year's Eve, The Daily Beast released its list of drunkest cities in America — with Texas scoring three solid spots in the Top 25.

Austin took seventh place, with San Antonio beating us out at number five on the list, and Houston just making it into the rankings at No. 25. Here's the top 10:

Boston

Springfield, Mass.

Milwaukee

Reno

San Antonio

Chicago

Austin

St. Louis

San Diego

Tucson

Not too many surprises, really. Milwaukee and St. Louis have their breweries. San Antonio has its Riverwalk. The rest have hearty student populations. (Springfield, by the way, is the major hub of New England's Knowledge Corridor, a region that boasts more than 30 universities and colleges.)

The average monthly number of drinks per person ranged from about 13 to 16, with Milwaukee leading the pack at 15.7 and Cleveland maintaining the most self-restraint at 13.3. The Texas cities ranked right in the middle with San Antonio at 14.2, Houston at 14.3 and Austin at 15.5.

Two types of carousers were established — heavy drinker and binge drinkers — to present a more accurate portrayal each city's average number of drinks. Lincoln, Neb. had the highest number of bingers with 22.7 percent of its over-age population, while San Francisco claimed only 14 percent. Houston fell near the national average of 15 percent, as Austin and San Antonio scored about 18 percent and 19 percent respectively.

"Basically, just eat a full meal before you go out," said department spokesperson Kathy Barton. "Then you're less likely to over drink. Other than that, have a designated driver or avoid driving all together.

"Any 12-year-old could give you that advice," she laughed. "Seriously, this is not a complicated new theory."